The Residency:
Hello
and welcome to our very first crowdfunder! For those who don’t know us so well,
we are Gavin Robertson and Nicholas Collett and we've been making and touring devised theatre both in the UK and internationally for over twenty years.
We are about to embark on a very exciting and specific Research and Development period.
Through performing each of our shows in Kansas City we were very fortunate to have been invited to apply for a creative residency in Seaside, Florida, USA, by an organisation called 'Escape 2 Create'. Having applied we've been accepted, which is a privilege in itself, and therefore in January 2016 we'll be there developing each of our new solo shows. Those that are familiar with us and/or our work know that since 2012 we've created four solo shows (two each) and collaborated on all of them together. This has given us a distinct style of work and we're now looking at working on the two new solo productions.
We'll be in Seaside for four weeks. We are being provided with accommodation. As part of the scheme we also have a contribution towards travel. However, we do still need your help! We need two international return flights, plus two internal return flights inside the USA, and even the transfer costs to/from the airport comes to a total of $200.
So, our research tells us that we need a total - for travel ONLY - of £2000.
So once we're there- what then? Well, alongside developing TWO shows we are, as part of this opportunity, conducting workshops and delivering a performance to local schools.
As part of the style of the work, there is always movement (usually to musical underscore) in place of text. We would like to record this in order to complete the shows on our return to the UK. We don't expect to necessarily return with two fully-fledged productions BUT- BOTH productions will need a promotional trailer in order to help secure bookings. We would like to also ask you therefore for a further £1000 which will enable us to physically shoot this material and edit the results into professional reels in a professional studio. In fact, that amount won't cover the full costs, but it will significantly help! We expect to spend a good portion of our time, in Florida, using the camera (both stills and video) to capture developing work in progress.
We hope you can help us get to our target, especially including the last part. Getting there is only a beginning!
Every penny is
appreciated - so whatever you can spare, even if it is just the time to share
the link, we will be genuinely grateful.
The SHOWS:
"Your Bard" - Nicholas Collett
William Shakespeare - the greatest playwright the world has ever seen? Or just a front man? A player – or a poet?
Now’s
your chance to meet Will in person. In the pub. An informal audience
with the man himself. Nicholas Collett takes the lid off a legend in
your local – Will’s childhood, adventures at the Globe and what’s it
like on tour. And whether he wrote all those plays…
He might play a few of the greatest hits, teach you to dance the Volta, or write a sonnet.
Ladies and gentlemen, raise your glasses –
Your Bard!
"An Iron Bar Is Mostly Empty Space" - Gavin Robertson
In its way this is a natural follow-up to the first solo show, ‘Crusoe’, as it
looks at the way in which Humans need and want to connect – increasingly so in
a world where virtual living is popular and possible and real interaction reduced. It also
looks at patterns in nature and draws a link between the two seemingly
unconnected subjects.
"AN IRON BAR IS
MOSTLY EMPTY SPACE" is actually a quote
from David P. Barash a Professor of Psychology at the University
of Washington, USA, and in essence refers to the human condition which is ever-changing.
He goes on - "Even inanimate objects that appear solid and persistent are
revealed by modern physics to be in a constant state of flux".
Gavin is already doing lots of reading of some quite technical books, as well as watching documentaries and jotting down random quotes and ideas...
We really do hope you feel you can contribute. Obviously our first aim is actually being able to get there so any funding will be prioritised towards the travel costs. This is a unique opportunity for us to spend a month as artists away from the usual pressures of daily life in the UK.
Thank you.